


the last crossroads

by rangerhitomi



Category: Cardfight!! Vanguard
Genre: Bittersweet Ending, Graduation, Holding Hands, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2020-05-12 03:44:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19220878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rangerhitomi/pseuds/rangerhitomi
Summary: Kai returns from France just in time for Aichi's graduation, and they talk about their future together.





	the last crossroads

**Author's Note:**

> a partner fic to "graduation gift," though you don't have to read that fic to understand this fic, this one does reference that one.

He didn't have to do anything other than stand as his name was read and collect the diploma on behalf of the other third-years at Miyaji Academy, but Aichi's nerves were getting the better of him. He still remembered last year's graduation, where he, the top of the second-years' class, had to give the speech; some of his classmates still poked fun at him for stammering through it and not looking up from his notes.

_ All you have to do is say "yes" and walk up to the stage, bow, smile, maybe wave a little,  _ he tried to convince himself, but what if he tripped? Or dropped the diploma? Or tied his tie wrong? Or--

A strong clap between his shoulder blades brought him back to earth.

"Hey, hey Aichi, quit lookin' so tense."

Aichi forced out a laugh. "Ah, sorry, Naoki-kun... I just can't believe it's here."

"I know what you mean," Shingo said from Naoki's other side. He adjusted his glasses. "It's kind of sad, that we won't be able to play Vanguard together all the time after this."

"Eh, don't be like that, Granny Glasses," Naoki said, arms crossed. "It ain't like we're leavin' the country or nothin'. We can still play Vanguard."

Aichi's stomach dropped at this.

"You're right, for once," Shingo said with a smirk.

"I'm right a lot more than ya think, ya nerd," Naoki retorted, putting Shingo in a headlock.

Both were so caught up teasing each other that they didn't notice Aichi biting his lip. The image of a stack of acceptance letters from a number of prestigious universities sitting on his desk at home flashed across his mind, but one stood out more than the others, because it was written in English.

He hadn't told them.

He fidgeted.

"Um, guys--"

"Please settle down," a teacher called out, and Naoki released Shingo, who adjusted his tie and straightened his glasses again. 

Aichi sat back in his chair, picking at the skin to the sides of his nails like he tended to do when he was nervous. A terrible habit, one that he’d had his whole life and one that he’d gotten better at controlling since starting Vanguard, but there was nothing else to occupy his restlessness as the principal droned on about globalism.

He wanted this ceremony to be done with so he could video chat with Kai; they were supposed to the night before, but Kai had sent him a text that something had come up and that he would talk to Aichi after graduation. Of all Aichi’s friends, the one who would understand Aichi’s plight was Kai. Kai, who had agonized over his future, Kai, who had worked to make connections abroad, Kai, who left behind the only life he’d ever known to chase his dreams in Europe. 

Aichi envied his freedom.

“Sendou Aichi!” 

The sound of his name startled him; everyone was staring at him, including Naoki, who gave him a little elbow nudge in the ribs. 

He jumped to his feet. “Y-yes!” he announced in a higher voice than normal, and a few classmates snickered. He slinked back in his chair as the principal rattled off the names of the other third-years, who stood and announced themselves confidently and eagerly, willing himself to pay closer attention -- after all, when the last name was called, Aichi would have to be ready to walk to the stage.

“Ishida Naoki!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Aichi barely heard Shingo chastise Naoki in a series of hissed complaints for being informal in such a formal setting. His stomach churned. 

“Congratulations to our third years for their great accomplishments. We know they will enter a global workforce and make a difference in the future of Japan and the world…”

The principal rambled on in this vein for a few more minutes, each overuse of the word  _ global  _ giving Aichi more and more anxiety. He forced himself to listen to each word, because it was almost his turn--

“And now, to accept the diploma on behalf of our graduating class is Sendou Aichi, the top third year of Miyaji Academy!”

There was a smattering of applause, mostly from his classmates, but also from somewhere in the back where Aichi could only assume his mother and Emi waited, as he stumbled onto the stage and was handed the diploma. 

“Thank you very much,” he managed to say without stuttering, and as he turned to the crowd to hold up the diploma, his eyes landed on three people sitting at the back. 

Emi, his mother, and…

His eyes widened, and so did the smile on his face, as he gazed at Kai Toshiki.

“And that concludes this year’s graduation ceremony…”

Aichi barely heard anything; through the cheers and the band playing and the swell of people finding their friends to congratulate them, Aichi’s attention was on one person.

“Hey, hey Aichi, congrats--”

“I’ll be right back, Naoki-kun!” Aichi said in a rush, practically breaking into a run, and Kai stood there at the back of the room, waiting, as Aichi threw himself into his arms. 

“Welcome home, Kai-kun,” he whispered into Kai’s chest.

“Thank you,” Kai whispered back. 

Aichi’s mother waited until her son had unglued himself from Kai’s body to wrap him in her own embrace, leaving kisses on his cheeks and forehead and the top of his head, crying all the while; Emi was somewhat more subdued, and at least forewent the kissing. 

“Oh, Kai-kun asked me to keep it a secret that he was visiting,” his mother said, correctly interpreting the look in his eyes as he gazed at Kai, “he wanted it to be a surprise, see?”

“It was a wonderful surprise,” Aichi said with a smile.

Kai smiled back. “I stayed with Miwa last night. I had to take his phone away so he didn’t text you or Tokura about me being here.”

“I see. That sounds just like him.”

Aichi wanted nothing more than to take Kai by the hand and lead him away, somewhere quiet so they could catch up and just be together after nine months apart (it was exactly one year ago when Aichi had shown up to Kai’s apartment the morning of Kai’s graduation and confessed to him and kissed him; the thought of a repeat experience both excited him and filled him with more anxiety than he had felt during the ceremony). But he also had an obligation to his fellow classmates to wish them well on their endeavors, and he wanted to spend time with Naoki and Shingo, too. 

Something of his hesitation must have shown on his face, because Kai smiled and gave him a little nudge. “Go on, I’ll be right here when you’re finished, okay?”

“Emi and I are going to go ahead to Card Capital to help Shin-san set up for the party!” his mother announced. “When you leave here, head over there, okay honey?”

“Okay.” Aichi hugged the two of them as they left, his mother giving Kai an embarrassingly approving once-over before disappearing. He turned back to Kai. “Do you want to come with me?”

Kai shook his head. “This is your day. I’ll wait here. Go say your goodbyes.”

Naoki and Shingo, predictably, wanted to see Kai too; Aichi managed to convince them to say goodbye to their classmates first. Several girls (and a few boys) had them sign their yearbooks, a few underclassmen lamented the loss of three of the Cardfight Club’s best members (and the captain), and even a couple of teachers said how much they would miss Aichi (and Shingo, and  _you too, I guess, Ishida-san)._ When they had gone through everyone they knew, Naoki led the way to where Kai waited, a huge grin on his face.

“Hey Kai!” Naoki slapped Kai’s back in lieu of a proper greeting; Kai grunted in response. “How’s France? You tolerating that French jerk?”

“Kai-san and Gaillard-san both deserve more respect than that!” Shingo hissed, and the pair bickered in between Kai explaining that yes, he was doing fine, and yes, Gaillard was fine too, until Shingo checked the time and announced that he and Naoki, who had promised to help Shin and Misaki with the party as well, were running behind schedule. When Aichi questioned why Shin and Misaki would rope the guests of honor at the party into helping set up for it, neither could give him a clear answer, and Aichi suspected they were just giving an excuse to let Aichi and Kai be alone together for a bit. Aichi appreciated that.

With the promise to meet Aichi and Kai at Card Capital for their party, Shingo and Naoki headed out, leaving Kai and Aichi alone at last.

“Shall we?” Aichi offered, and Kai murmured an affirmative, his fingertips brushing the back of Aichi’s hand in both hesitation and invitation. It was up to Aichi, as it always had been in their complicated relationship, to take the initiative; he turned his wrist enough to fumble for Kai’s hand, linking their fingers together. 

His hand was warm, and Aichi’s heart filled with love for him. 

They left Miyaji and walked the path through the park together, under the full blossoms of the cherry trees. It was the same park, the same trees, the same hesitant conversation, except now, they stood side-by-side. Still, giving voice to his plans for the future for the first time proved to be too much for Aichi, and he stayed silent as they walked, until Kai stopped and turned to face Aichi, their hands still locked together. 

“So?”

Aichi found it difficult to look up into Kai’s face, so he stared at Kai’s jacket instead. “So…”

“Aichi.”

He looked at the ground. 

“Hey.” 

Kai touched Aichi’s cheek with the fingertips of his free hand; Aichi let out a tiny gasp of surprise at the feather-light touch. Kai was never so bold.

“What’s bothering you, Aichi?” 

Aichi knew what Kai asked, and he had made up his mind, but now that he could physically touch Kai again, his decision was getting harder to voice. “It, it seemed like an easy choice before today, before me and Naoki-kun and Shingo-kun graduated and, and I saw you, but now I’m… kind of worried.” Aichi laughed nervously. His face warmed as Kai cupped his face and met his eyes. 

“You remember that night, during the Asia Circuit, where I told you that our paths would definitely meet again?”

How could Aichi ever forget? It was among the fondest memories he held, the night when Kai promised Aichi that their paths would intersect, no matter how far apart their choices took them from one another. It proved to be prophetic in many ways; Kai had nearly destroyed their relationship, out of fear that Kai would lose Aichi, and when they came back together, it was Aichi’s turn to sever that bond. 

“We walked very different paths, didn’t we?” 

They hurt each other, abandoned each other, and despaired for each other, but they never lost faith in each other, not in the darkest of times, not even on the precipice of death and eternal darkness. And every time, they found each other, clung to each other, and lifted each other out of their pain; not the fear of death nor the heartbreak of betrayal could shake their love. 

Kai’s smile was strained. Talking of that part of their lives still hurt him, sometimes. “Yeah. But we always find our crossroad, in the end.” He stretched out his free hand for Aichi’s, but hesitated. Aichi grabbed it in his own hand, squeezing firmly. They stood close together, hands clasped between their bodies. Kai’s warmth was comforting. It always had been. 

It was time now, perhaps, to give voice to the conflict plaguing his heart. 

“We always find our way back together,” Aichi whispered, swallowing the lump in his throat. 

“And we will again, I promise.” Kai pressed his forehead to Aichi’s. “So whatever it is that’s on your mind, I can try to help you sort out.” `

Aichi pressed closer, so their noses touched. “I… I was accepted to attend a lot of universities.”

The smile softened. “I didn’t expect anything less of you.”

Aichi’s face warmed. “Well, I... “ He faltered. The desire to bury his face in Kai’s chest overwhelmed him, and he gave in to it. “The one I want to go to is… it’s in America.”

With his head on Kai’s chest, he could feel Kai’s barely perceptible jolt of surprise. Kai recovered quickly. “America, huh? What school?”

Kai couldn’t know of many schools in America, so he was clearly asking to stall for time while he thought of what to say to this extraordinary declaration. “Yale.” He pulled away in time to see Kai’s furrowed brows, as if to say  _ I have no idea what that is,  _ and Aichi laughed weakly. “It’s one of America’s oldest universities. It’s very hard to get into! I was worried that my English proficiency score wouldn’t be high enough to go to school in America but I guess… Anyway, I’m studying cosmology and astrophysics, and since the school year doesn’t start until the fall, I’m going to keep working on improving my English for the next few months, so-- Kai-kun, you look like you’re about to cry...”

Kai let Aichi brush his fingers under Kai’s eyes to capture the tears lingering on his lashes. Kai  _ never  _ cried in front of others; Aichi had seen him close to it a few times, and Kai had once admitted that Aichi’s disappearance during Kai’s third year had given him many nights where he would cry himself to sleep, but he never did it in front of Aichi. Aichi’s heart might have broken at the sight had Kai not smiled and pulled Aichi into a tight embrace, whispering the words  _ I am so proud of you  _ in Aichi’s ear.

Aichi melted into Kai’s arms, his own wrapping around Kai’s waist. They held each other in that park, the one where they first met, surrounded by cherry blossoms; it was no coincidence that they would find themselves here once again, at this critical junction of their lives. He loved Kai, with all his heart, a thought that caused him to tighten his arms and cry into Kai’s chest, just as he knew Kai loved him. Their paths were about to diverge one last time, Kai’s to France and Aichi’s to America, but they would converge in the end, a path for the both of them to walk along together, forever. 


End file.
